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On a steep rocky spur in Northern Italy, a stunning hermit's shrine can be found.
The striking San Romedio sanctuary, which honors a hermit who is said to have lived out his final years with a pet bear, is composed of five churches. They were built over a period of 1,000 years next to a steep rock wall. A 130-step staircase leads visitors up the complex that represents a millennium of Roman Catholic history. Two Franciscan friars attend to the structures at the top of the rocky crag in Northern Italy. The road up to the canyon is inaccessible, but there's an old aqueduct (no longer in use) that provides a scenic walking path up slope.